"I just know it was you, Loki, you're a cheating little bitch!"
"Go fuck yourself, Ishtar, you rat bastard!"
"Why are we accusing Loki? It was obviously Hades!"
"Me? How dare you!?"
The gods all screamed their bloody heads off, Aiz had to admit she was kind of scared, a few days ago someone had used their arcanum, and nobody knew who or how. So here they gathered to "discuss" things and Loki decided to drag Aiz into this madness for some reason or another that Aiz hadn't quite picked on as her goddess ranted about the supposed "cheating little bastard".
"So unbecoming." A gruff voice called her attention, "To see gods acting in such a manner."
Aiz couldn't help, but agree with the man. Truth be told, she partially understood the gods' anger, to use arcanum was entirely prohibited and nothing short of cheating, however ever since the meeting began they acted in many ways except civilized.
The Denatus had been delayed to give time for this reunion, during the first day explanations were given, they were told by Hephaestus and Freya, who were conducting the investigation, that the arcanum used hadn't been that strong, that information however did little to quell the anger of the gods present, for even a weak use of arcanum is enough to give a familia a massive advantage. On the second day it was revealed that whichever god used it did so to attack something as the power used lacked any finesse to be anything else, so maybe it was used by a god to protect their children. The third and fourth day had no new information given. Today however was a different story as Haphaestus and Freya had announced that the investigations had been concluded.
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
The hammer strikes against the table caught the attention of everyone in the room, it was Haphaestus, she had a serious look on her face and a stack of papers in her hands.
"Now, with the investigation concluded, we present to you all that has been found." Haphaestus said. "Let us begin by reminding everyone of what has already been said." Hephaestus explained and the gods listened, Aiz knew that the gods were most eccentric, so to see them so calmly listening to Haphaestus made her feel weird.
Once the smith goddess finished recapitulating she gave space for other gods to speak and ask questions in case something wasn't properly understood, but nobody said anything, whether it was because they truly understood or because they didn't want to appear dumb amongst their peers was debatable. "Very well, I may now present to you the conclusion to the investigation. It's with great shame that I tell you that it ended inconclusive."
Within a flash the room erupted with screams, Aiz had to cover up her ears lest they began to ring. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN?!" "ALL THIS BUILD UP FOR NOTHING?!" "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!" Questions full of anger and frustration were thrown left and right.
"Silence!" The sharp voice of the goddess of beauty cut through the crowd like a knife, forcing all gods into instant silence as she came from behind Hephaestus.
"Since when was she behind Hephaestus?" Aiz asked herself.
"This is a shame, indeed, but right now there's nothing we can do, as of now the best conclusion is that some god must have used it kill a monster, most likely to save one of their children, we shall keep a closer eye in case it happens again, and if does you will all be notified." Freya explained.
Most gods seemed satisfied with her explanation, others not so much, nobody voiced any complaint. "With that all done." Hephaestus interjected, "I declare this reunion over, don't forget that the Denatus is next week and that it shall be hosted by Loki, have a good day."
Aiz felt her arm being pulled by Loki, her goddess mumbled something under her breath. As the sword princess followed her goddess, her eyes landed on Hestia, the god of Bell and Annatar, the young looking goddess had a look of worry on her face that made Aiz feel bad for her. She wondered what Hestia could be feeling solemn about.
XXX
So many questions in so little time, Sauron had spent most of his bed time pondering the many mysteries he had found, first was his level up, after waking up the dwarf had said that Sauron and Bell had gone up a level when they checked their backs, that came as a surprise to the leader because his power wasn't in his soul, it came from his ring, however since his ring had now found itself depleted of magical energy the Maia came to the conclusion that his soul must've absorbed the magic within the ring.
Second came the matters inside the cave, mainly the hieroglyphs that were similar to adûnaic, they weren't perfect, but far too close for comfort. The question was how? Had men of númenor traveled to these lands before? If so, who had killed them? Who hid their city within a mountain, and why had they done so?
There was also the fire minotaur, such a beast didn't just exist naturally, someone must have created and put it there to guard that place, but again, why?
The dark lord hit his head on the pillow in frustration, he would be bedridden for at least another day due to the injuries they sustained, all the cuts, internal bleeding and broken bones had been too much for the potions and healing spells so both Bell and Sauron stayed in a coma for three days, Bell had woken up a few hours before the Maiar.
"Well, there's no use in getting frustrated, I suppose." The dark lord told himself, at least there was one mystery he managed to resolve by himself, the matter of the pain he felt in his chest when Bell's life was in danger, it had been nothing but a rational gut reaction, if Bell died Hestia would he disappointed and mad with grief, no doubt in her sadness she would kick the dark lord out and that would be a hassle, yep, what else could it be?
XXX
The second they were healthy enough Annatar made them plunge the mine once more, most kobolds had been killed already and others had fled into the wilds, but Annatar was mostly interested in the raw materials and the weird city they had found. They collected iron, copper, silver and even some gold, they also got a lot of crystals.
After collecting enough minerals they went to the city underground, it held an architecture Bell wasn't familiar with, from there they looted a few necklaces, wristbands and other jewelry, many of them had designs of boats, islands and sea creatures, very weird for a civilization in the middle of dry land near the mountains, was this civilization so old that the geography of the place was different during their time?
"May I ask, are we looking for something specific?" Lilly asked Annatar who was going through a cabinet.
"Yes, if you can find anything like letters, books, anything of that nature, and give it to me." The dark elf said.
But there was no such luck on that front, even as they entered the ruined city's temple in the middle. The building was more destroyed than the rest and the vast wall behind the altar where no doubt a mural would be located had been scrubbed clean. The lack of information on this civilization was clearly irritating Annatar, most wouldn't be able to tell, but Bell could by looking at the way the elf's fiery eyes glowed.
After their bags were full and their energy was spent the group made their way outside.
"Uuuhg!" Bell streched out. "That was a productive day." Bell said and gave the group a thumbs up.
"Yep, after this mission we are unbelievably rich." Lilly said, her eyes shining with happiness.
Annatar released a sigh and a chuckle, then ruffled her hair. "That's true, it was a productive mission, not only due to our monetary gain."
"But also because of our level up!" Bell added. "Can you believe it? Level 2!" The white haired boy exclaimed as they left the cave, his eyes taking a second to adjust to the sunlight.
"Heyo." A gruff voice approached, it was the dwarf, Bell had learned his name is Loreth. "I can see you are full of stuff huh?" He said and pointed to the many bags the group held, bags on their back and on their hand, their pockets were full too.
"Yes, we appreciate you letting us mine in your cave." Annatar said. He placed one bag on the ground and extended a hand to the dwarf who grabbed it firmly.
"Bah! Don't worry about it." the dwarf exclaimed. "It was the bare minimum considering you almost died down there, sorry our on-call healer couldn't do much and you spent so long in bed. I know that to adventurers time is everything."
"Don't worry." Bell interjected. "You did what you could, and if it wasn't for you we wouldn't be alive." Annatar added.
"That's fine and this is also goodbye, isn't it?" Loreth said.
"Yes, we want to return home before sundown." Annatar explained.
"Then I won't hold you any longer." He smiled at the group and they left after that.
Slowly the rocky path made way to green pasture and they walked to Agris, Bell allowed his mind to travel over the happenings of the last few days until it landed back on his fight against the minotaur, specifically the end. "Hey, sir Annatar."
"Huh?" The dark elf was pulled from his own mind bubble. "What is it?"
"What was that thing that you did when you killed the minotaur? When your hair began to shine and everything." Bell asked.
The elf shot him a look of confusion. "I… don't know, the whole thing is a blur in truth, I also don't remember my hair shining." The elf responded.
"Really? That's a shame because that was really cool." Bell said, Annatar responded with a hmm. "Maybe it was a new skill?" Lilly interjected.
"Oh! A new skill, that would be so cool."
"Huh, maybe, maybe it is." Annatar's voice trailed off.
There was silence after that, normally that would be awkward, but here it wasn't, the silence felt natural as the group walked together.
XXX
Hestia instantly jumped on Bell when they entered through the door of the small church, Sauron knew she would do that so he made sure that the boy would go first. "YOUAREBACK!IWASSOWORRIEDITHROUGHTSOMETHINGHAPPENEDYOUHAVENOIDEAHOWMUCHIWORRIED!!!!!!" And so she went without end.
The dark lord thought he would be spared the onslaught only for the short goddess to jump him too, pulling both of her children into a hug and resting their heads on her bosom, due to their difference in height Sauron had to bend his back quite a lot for it to happen.
After their merry greeting Hestia went to check their stats, they were both level 2, with that came advanced abilities, both of them had gained the option to choose "hunter" or "immunity to poisons", those are normal skills to have, but they also had each their own unique skills to choose amidst the pool of options. Bell had the "luck" skill appear to him, Bell was hesitant to choose while the dark lord believed that picking that option was a no-brainer, the ability to bend probabilities to one's favor is simply a must if they have the option. Sauron himself however gained two options, "polymorph" and "commanding voice". "Polymorph" would allow him to shapeshift at will according to the ability's level, and "commanding voice" gave him the ability to give orders from far away to everyone with the same falna, regardless of distance.
The dark lord was going to select "polymorph". The ability to shapeshift had been a great skill and he was happy to have it in his arsenal once more, but when he turned to Hestia she held a murderous stare in his direction.
"Annatar." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Didn't you say you were going to be careful? You can't have gone up a level unless you killed a really dangerous monster." Hestia's voice carried a dangerous edge to it that made Bell retreat in fear.
"My Goddess." Sauron placed a hand atop her head. "Whilst it is true that we ran into issues, I did also say that we would return better than ever, didn't I?" The dark lord said with a tone of voice as sweet as honey and a gaze that melted her heart.
"I guess so." Hestia kept her pout as she conceded to Annatar's argument.
The elf ruffled her hair before taking "polymorph".
The two adventurers ate some bread with meat before going to sleep. Normally Annatar wouldn't like the idea of sharing a bed, but he was too tired to care.
XXX
Work, work and more work. It seemed like Eina's life was nothing but work, and this… Situation would bring even more work.
When Bell announced his and Annatar's level up she couldn't believe her ears, yet it was true, Bell leveled up in six weeks and Annatar even less.
And the worst part is that they didn't do anything out of the normal for adventurers as far as she knew, they went on quests, they killed monsters, it was all standard… so how?
"Huhg." She hit her head hard against the table as she finished writing her report, she knew she shouldn't be biased, but she still wanted to add as many details about their fight against the fire minotaur as she could.
"How did they do it?" She continued to wonder in her mind.
Her mind went to the advanced abilities they got, more precisely to "polymorph" and "luck", strange abilities she never heard of, she could understand Bell receiving that option, him surviving the minotaur and getting so far so fast was extremely lucky, but Annatar… why would he receive the ability to "polymorph", to change his own body… wouldn't that be the power given to a sneaky assassin? Maybe a thief? She couldn't understand why a hammer wielding, heavily armored, blacksmith would receive an ability meant for deceit, there was definitely something within Annatar she didn't see before, she just couldn't pinpoint what yet.
XXX
The Denatus was originally a meeting of retired gods and goddesses that was held because they had too much free time. Their Familias had built up a certain level of power and influence, and these deities wanted to forget the stresses of work and enjoy full-time relaxation. Since they had nothing to do, they decided it would be fun to gather others like
themselves and talk about trivial matters to kill time.
While it was nothing but a small party, the important thing was that all of these extravagant gods and goddesses needed a place to meet. And one was soon established. As years passed and the number of participants grew, the purpose of these meetings started to change. The pointless conversation became a way to share the latest news. It didn't just stop with exchanging information among Familias, and once the Guild became involved, the Denatus became a meeting that had far- reaching effects all over Orario.
While the meeting was known by name only, the gods and goddesses who participated in a Denatus became more powerful, their voices directly affecting adventurers. The naming process was one such influence and had become a customary event.
"Looks like many children leveled up this time."
"Yeah, I've heard it was a great harvest. This is gonna be fun." The meeting place for Denatus was on the thirtieth floor of the skyscraper in the middle of the city—Babel Tower.
The place had changed quite a bit since Hestia first came down. A large, round table sat in the middle of the room surrounded by a ring of chairs. The rest of the floor was completely empty. The outer walls had been replaced with glass, encasing their meeting within the clouds above the city. Due to the extremely high ceiling, it looked almost as if the gods met in a temple floating in the sky.
"More of us here than usual this time."
"Heh-heh, quite a few have stopped showing up as well."
As the last of the deities made their way toward the table, it didn't take them long to realize that more than thirty gods and goddesses were in attendance. Each one of them had at least one advanced adventurer—Level 2 or above—in their Familia, meaning there were just as many influential Familias inside Orario. However, despite all the lustrous gods in attendance, one "guest" had become the center of attention, a black cat with orange eyes. The feline had entered with Amaterasu, and soon gained the attention of many who surrounded it, spooking the animal and making it seek refuge atop one of the chandeliers while a few goddesses gushed over the animal.
"You seem rather calm."
"I've got nothing to be nervous about, do I?" Hestia quickly answered the question as the crimson haired, crimson eyed goddess Hephaestus gazed at her.
The refined goddess wore a thin black blouse, her sparkling crimson hair flowing down her back. With her clothes that would be more fitting for a man, male and female deities alike were drawn in by her charm. She looked over at Hestia, a patch covering her right eye, and slowly shrugged her shoulders. "I thought you'd be a little more anxious. You know, scrunching up your face like you always do."
"…If something's going to change I'll make plenty of noise. But all that does is just provide entertainment for everyone else, right?"
"You're not wrong…"
Hephaestus could feel Hestia grimacing as deity after deity came up to her to squeeze and pinch her puffy cheeks. Hers was a new face, and many of the gods and goddesses around her were drawn to her side like moths to a flame. They didn't even bother to hide their intentions.
They would do the same even if it weren't Hestia. Their way of thinking was obvious.
They were congratulating her, in their own way. It was almost a miracle that her extremely small Familia's status had gone up.
"I'm going to say this now: Don't expect any help from me. With this many of us here, my voice is but one among many."
"Yes, I know." Hestia fidgeted a little bit in her chair after Hephaestos's warning.
"Let's get the ball rollin'!" Came a voice from across the table.
All conversations came to a sudden halt, even the cat began to pay attention. The owner of the voice got up, her vermilion-colored hair swishing as she stood. "'Bout time we started up the one thousandth Denatus. Today's hostess is none other than yours truly, Loki! Nice ta see ya!"
A chorus of whistles and thunderous applause erupted throughout the room. Loki, her light red hair tied into a short ponytail, smiled with narrowed eyes as she waved her hands to settle everyone down.
Meanwhile, Hestia looked at her from her seat on the opposite side of the table and muttered with the utmost dissatisfaction, "Why does Loki get to run the show?"
"She wanted to. Most of her Familia is out on an expedition and her home is almost empty. Basically, she was bored."
"Ohhhh, she has time to be bored…" Hestia was not particularly fond of Loki, her disdain coming out in her voice. Whether she heard Hestia's angry mumbling or not, Loki cast her squinty gaze over in Hestia's direction, but decided to ignore the young goddess and
continue with her duties. Hestia was surprised by this turn of events. Normally, Loki would've charged headlong straight for her.
"Alrighty, let's get to it. First off, any news that needs hearin'? You got something interestin' ta say, speak up!"
"Oh, me, me! Poor little Soma got a warning from the Guild. He had to give up his one and only hobby!"
"Whad'ya say—?!"
"Eh, what was Soma's hobby anyway?"
"Not a clue."
"Ah, probably the work of little Miss Eina…"
"To think we'd be talking about that loner Soma!"
"What happened next? Tell me, tell me!!"
"Apparently he won't come out of his room. He's just sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth."
"I wanna seeeeeeeeee!!"
"I'm going to go cheer him up!"
"Hey!"
"You're just going to rub salt on his wounds, aren't you?"
"My apologies. Sorry to change the topic so suddenly, but there is an urgent matter we need to discuss. There is information that the Kingdom of Rakia is preparing to invade Orario."
"Very sudden, indeed."
"Don't tell me it's that Ares guy again."
"Isn't it about time we do something about that idiot? He's getting to be a real pain in the ass, seriously."
"Why is Ares worshipped so much in that country, anyway?"
"Maybe it's because he's got a personality that's hard to hate? The children love that kind of thing."
"It has to be his amazing good looks. His visage is almost on par with the goddess of beauty. I'm in the Freya camp, though."
"Got muscles for brains, too."
The table erupted with conversation ranging from pointless joking to absolute seriousness, and back again two or three times. Each of the gods continued to say their own opinions, the atmosphere relaxed and unhurried. While she had an idea this was what went on, actually seeing this chaos with her own eyes was frustrating for Hestia.
It looked nearly impossible to regain any kind of control, but—"Y'all pipe down, now!" Loki's voice suddenly rose above the din. With a reaction speed that Hestia could barely comprehend, all the deities went silent.
"All right, then. Here's what we got. Need ta keep our eyes on Rakia, inform the Guild. Then again, knowin' old man Uranus, he'll figure it out himself. For everybody else, give yer Familias a heads-up. That clear ta y'all?"
"Understood."
Loki sorted through all of the information and summarized the important points. Since the gods and goddesses from all of the most influential Familias in Orario were in attendance, making sure that all of them heard the most important information was part of her job.
Loki then went around the table, asking for any other news that needed to be shared. As soon as her questions fell on deaf ears…she clapped once, her face scrunched into a catlike grin.
"Time ta proceed ta the Namin' Ceremony."
The room was suddenly tense.
The moment that Loki uttered those words, many of the gods who had up until that point been very vocal in the discussion froze, their faces one shade paler. Hestia was among their ranks.
As for the others, they drooled in anticipation. They were used to how these Denatus meetings were run, and their favorite part was coming up. Several of their faces looked broken as ugly smiles burst forth from their lips.
Their party, and the others' tragedy, was about to begin.
"Everybody's got the handouts, yeah? Then let's raise the curtain! Today's top batter is…Seto's boy, an adventurer named Ceti!"
"P-please, please go easy on him…?!"
"""""""""DENIED!!""""""""""""
"Noooooooooooooo!"
The sensibility of the gods had changed to match the culture on Earth. Being from the upper world, it was common knowledge to Hestia that the gods and goddesses possessed senses that transcended human comprehension. However, that was not necessarily so, and there were many similarities between the ways gods and the people of Earth thought.
However. The deities had a completely different sense of what made a good name when it came to bestowing titles. Were the gods strange, or were the children foolish? Were the gods too radical or were the children too old-fashioned in their respective ways of thinking?
While the truth had yet to be determined, the fact was that many names that made the children's eyes light up with pride made their gods' heads droop in shame.
"—That's final. The adventurer Ceti Selty shall be known as a dragon knight of the dawn: 'Burning Fighting Fighter'!"
"Whhhyyyyyyyy?!"
Another "regrettable name" had just been created. The deities with less-than-generous personalities loved to watch others squirm as their favorite children were, one by one, given these regrettable names. The children who received them, however, would be in awe of the mental images that these nicknames produced.
The deities would first enjoy watching other gods and goddesses go mad with embarrassment, with their second course being watching the children's reactions to their uncouth nicknames. Today was a great day because they would spend most of it rolling on the floor with laughter. The best part was many of these names would live on in the children's legends.
"This is too cruel." Hestia muttered.
"I understand all too well…" Hestia's scared voice squeaked out of her throat as she heard Hephaestus. "I was the same at first," said Hephaestus with a slow nod. Her crimson left eye was looking off into the distance.
Deities attending Denatus for the first time, especially the Naming Ceremony, were treated with the utmost cruelty. Sharing useful information might have been the main purpose of the day's meeting, but the hazing of newcomers had now begun. Hestia's face turned sour as she watched some gods scream out in despair while others laughed, clutching their ribs. The disparity between the two groups was sickening.
One after another the children received colorful and regretful nicknames that made their gods squeal with shame, Loki made her way across the table whike listing out the children to be named.
Adventurers from Hephaestus Familia, Ganesha Familia, and Ishtar Familia were on the list to be named.
"…Freya! Not a single one from your house has leveled up. So you came here for leisure only? Why is it that the Almighty Freya would even bother showing her face in a place like this?"
"Why, yes. Even in Tenkai, retirement is the poison that will kill us all. I was just out for a little stroll, Ishtar."
Any deity who received an invitation to Denatus had the right to participate in any meeting from then on.
If no one in their Familia had leveled up, then there was almost no point in their attendance other than for the entertainment. A good example would be the many gods and goddesses who took the lead in suggesting second names during the ceremony.
Despite Ishtar's poorly disguised mockery, Freya brushed off her fellow goddess of beauty's words with a cold smile. The cattiness of some goddesses made Hestia tense up, she hoped that nobody would target her.
"Alrighty, then, enough chitchat. Time to pick back up again. Next on the list is…nu-hee-hee, the hometown hero, my Aiz!"
"The Kenki's back again!!"
"The princess is just as beautiful as ever."
"You mean she's Level Six now?"
The Naming Ceremony had been in danger of breaking down, but a big name like Aiz Wallenstein was just what they needed to get back on track.
Each of the deities flipped through their paperwork to find an extremely detailed picture of a young girl staring back up at them with eyes like a doll. Every time someone leveled up, they received a chance to correct their second name. Even if their first title was rather strange, as long as they leveled up again it could be fixed at the next Denatus Naming Ceremony.
"Don't you think that Aiz's name is good enough as it is?"
"Agreed."
"It could be changed to something like: Holy sword—'Kensei'?"
"Hunh?"
"Aiz's image is completely different, don'cha think?"
"Well, the be-all and end-all would be Daughter of the Gods—'Our Lady.'"
"""""Agreed!""""""
"I'll end y'all." Loki's voice was frigid.
""""""Our apologies!!""""""
Another way to avoid an embarrassing second name was for the god or goddess to bring up how powerful their Familia was within Orario. In short, they had to make the others think that picking a fight would be a very bad idea.
None of the gods were foolish enough to get carried away when they knew the wrath of Loki was waiting for them. Every single one of the deities who had gotten caught up in the moment slammed their heads to the table in a deep bow in Loki's direction, in order to escape her glare of death.
"Seriously, ya gotta know who yer dealin' with." The trickster's voice quickly returned to it's normal state. "Anyhoo, next…Hmm, last one, yeah?"
Hestia suddenly went tense, gulping down her last breath. There was only one last page left in the prepared handouts. The level-up had
occurred just before the Denatus, so only the most basic of basic information had been prepared in time. It was for two adventurers who belonged to Hestia Familia, who had been completely unknown until recently.
Bell and Annatar.
From atop of the chandelier the cat came down and licked Hestia's hand, calming her down a little bit.
"So that child really did become Level Two…"
Hephaestus whispered quietly to herself as she looked at the Guild's seal of approval on the paperwork clutched in her hands. Her friend's words barely making it into her ears, Hestia looked around the table. There were many smiles. However, they were the dirty, drooling smiles of people who had just eaten a full-course meal and were about to get their dessert. Her moment of truth had arrived.
She had said that she would find a good nickname for Bell before leaving but had failed to prepare a strategy, thinking that everything would work out by believing in the power of their love and courage!
Loki quietly got to her feet.
"…Loki?"
"Before we get to namin', there's somethin' I'd like ta know, Shorty."
No one objected, as the normally squinting Loki opened her eyes wide enough to let everyone know she had a bone to pick. "He did that much with our blessin' in a month an' a half, you really expectin' me to believe that?!" Loki slammed the palm of her hand onto her own paperwork on top of Bell's face, her face inches from Hestia's.
"It took my Aiz a year to level-up fer the first time. a whole year! And this boy does it in a month an' a half?! The elf even less?! What're ya tryin' to pull?" Loki exclaimed, just then the cat swatted at her, making the red head pull back.
"Hey! Whos' cat is this?" Loki asked while the creature hissed at her, Loki hissed back.
Hestia stayed silent, she did not know what to say, she would NOT reveal Bell's "Realis Phrase" and she really did not know how Annatar had grown so quickly.
"So ya can't say? Ya wouldn't happen ta be usin' yer divine power, now would ya? Could it be that random use of arcanum a week ago was yer doin'?"
"O-of course not!"
"Okay then, out with it. If yer conscience is clean, this should be easy as pie." Loki's accusations pierced deep, to use their arcanum was a serious crime.
"My my, what's the big deal?" A beautiful soprano voice echoed throughout the room.
"…Huh?"
"Whassat?"
All eyes left Hestia in an instant and instead went to the owner of the voice. Freya was leaning back in her chair, an aloof expression on her face. "As long as Hestia hasn't violated our laws, then there's no need for her to explain herself, yes? It is, after all, taboo to reveal the inner workings of any Familia. That includes the Statuses and Abilities of any members."
Looking at a lock of her hair, she pulled it back behind her ear. Freya appeared disinterested, as if she were only talking common sense. But it stopped Loki in her tracks.
"…But one month? Can't ya wrap yer mind around that, ya airheaded vixen?"
"Hee-hee, why does this bother you so much, Loki? Your attitude seems rather strange to me…Is this jealousy, perhaps? Is it because Hestia's boys broke your favorite little girl's record?"
"As if," Loki retorted with a sneer.
"Regardless, that is what happened, and it's not for you to try and threaten information out of someone like this, we should expect more… subtlety from the god of trickery." Freya stood up. "And that's quite an interesting tale from them, a mighty quest at an abandoned mine, facing a forgotten monster, sometimes the lower world is just crazy like that." Freya said in a dismissive tone while getting up and walking towards the door. "Be sure to give them a good name, okay?" Freya added before leaving the room, a trail of silence stayed in her wake.
Loki cleared her throat. "We still need to choose a name for them two."
"Sounds good."
"But this human and this elf…I haven't heard anything about them."
"It's the ones you overlook who surprise you."
"There are no rumors about them at all."
The suddenly serious gods began discussing the boys immediately.
Hestia had finally recovered from the abrupt changes of mood during the Denatus and looked up at Hephaestus sitting next to her. Her eyes asked exactly what she wanted to know: "What happened?"
The crimson-haired goddess shrugged her shoulders, a look of frustration on her face as she responded. "I don't have a clue."
"There's not enough information here. Nothing to go on. The Guild was really lazy with this then."
"They leveled up just two days before the Denatus, so they had to squeeze them
in. Can't be helped."
"Let's see…White hair with red eyes…A rabbit…How about 'The Good
Rabbit, Pyonkichi'?"
"No, that name is already used. A smith named Wel-something used it for a
piece of armor already."
"Thought of it before us…!!"
"Wel-something…Just what is he?"
"Hmmm, Ganesha, do you have any thoughts?"
"…I am Ganesha!"
"Yes, yes, Ganesha, Ganesha."
"As we try to find a more suitable name, nothing really jumps out at me!"
The discussion continued without much progress being made.
Hestia tilted her head in relief that the greatest danger seemed to be behind
her.
A heartbeat later, a shadow fell over her body.
"…Loki?"
"…" Loki was standing beside her. She had left her seat on the other side of the table and was now staring directly down at Hestia. There was no doubt she was in a bad mood, but she forced her mouth open. "…Watch yer back, Shorty."
"Huh?"
"Keep yer eyes open, is what I'm sayin'. As much as it pains me ta warn ya like this…I can't stand watchin' that idiot do as she pleases. Gotta stop it now." He Loki admitted. "She's underestimatin' me," said Loki with an annoyed sneer.
Loki jerked her head toward the door to grab Hestia's attention. Looking in that direction, she saw the last of Freya's silver hair flow out of sight.
"W-wait a second, here! What do you mean by 'warn me'?" Unable to understand Loki's words, Hestia asked for clarification. Loki's
eyebrows twitched in frustration before she took another step toward the young goddess.
"Are ya that thick?" asked Loki as she leaned down to Hestia's eye level, their noses almost close enough to touch. "Idiot! Wake up, willya? She just covered fer yer boy."
"…?" Still unable to connect the dots, Hestia could only look back at Loki with dumbfounded eyes.
Loki stood back up, sighing through her nose. She'd had enough. "Woah, y'really don't know. Ah well, not my problem anyway. Such an idiot," Loki said under her breath on her way back to her seat.
Under Hephaistos's watchful gaze, Hestia's eyes followed Loki as she went around the table. Then she looked over toward the door that Freya had just exited. She mulled over Loki's words …Freya…protected them?
The moment she realized the possibility of a certain scenario, the table of gods and goddesses around her erupted as one, making the cat jump in surprise.
""""""""""""IT'S DECIDED!!""""""""""""
XXX
Evil elf and Little Rookie.
The soft sound of hammering against the metal made for an entrancing tune as Annatar mulled over the things he learned during the Denatus, which wasn't much, there was talk of a war, but that was being cleaned up by Uranus. Then there was Freya, the goddess of beauty, there was something… off about her, she had a sudden interest in him and Bell, and he didn't like it, he didn't like it one bit. The dark lord knew well how people like her worked, she looked at others with arrogance, but she was not as clever as she likes to believe. Loki was a surprise to be sure, despite her broken manner of speech and, from what he heard, perverted tendencies, she was able to masterfully conduct a group and she held herself with pride.
Then there was the naming ceremony, which was a drag. All that he learned was that his dislike for those gods weren't unfounded, their behavior was so childish, so uncouth, so… shameful, the maiar did NOT understand why anyone would ever worship such creatures.
A heavy sigh escaped his lips and he looked at the thing he had been working on, a small bracelet. Sauron wanted to repair his team's armor and weapons, but Bell insisted on buying new weapons instead, something about "experiencing the adventurer's life" or something to that effect.
He left the workshop and stretched out, the bright sun helping raise up his spirits.
"—Thereeeee heeeee iiiiiiis!!!!"
"Eh?"
Suddenly a loud voice filled his ears.
"It's the elf!"
"So majestic!"
"Ohh, he is so scary~" The elf suddenly found himself being surrounded by goddess.
"Wh-" Sauron stepped back in confusion.
"Tell me, tell me, why don't you join my familia? We will welcome you with open arms."
"Hey, wait your turn, and stop being so desperate too, that's lame."
"You are one to talk when your familia is so tiny."
"Ahem." Sauron cleared his throat. "I already have a familia, so I have to refuse your offer."
"All previous relationships are meaningless in the eyes of love. Don't you think so?"
"You're too good for the Loli Lady!"
"But a serious question: What's the secret to your fast growth? Raw talent? A Skill? Or perhaps foul play?"
"A rare skill, a rare skill? Is it true, is it true? It has to be a rare skill!"
"I really wanna know what's written on this boy's back."
"If it's okay with you, would you take those clothes off? Just the top is okay! I'll even pay you?…Hee-hee."
"We could always force him out of them…"
The maiar grabbed the last goddess who spoke. "You will do no such thing." His voice was low and hot, his burning with amber as held her shoulder. "You and your friends will grab your things and you will leave my home or I will have you all removed." He commanded.
The strong tone and gravy wave of his made the gods tremble, but also a blush.
They scurried out of there quickly, leaving behind an aggravated Sauron.
XXX
It was him, it had to be. The goddess of beauty watched as the elf made even gods fear his wrath, the tone of his voice and his sharp serious features made her feel a tingle.
"Such strength." She muttered while moving her hands down her body.
To think that a mortal would use divine energy… the possibilities, the changes, the uncharted path ahead. For one like her, who had experienced most of what the world had to offer, this was a thrill indeed.
The boy was behind in terms of being exciting, so crystal clear, naive and innocent with great powers hidden within.
Together they formed a ying-yang of power and potential, she only had one wish, as she watched the elf return home, and the boy speaking with a red haired blacksmith, she only wanted one thing. "Don't disappoint me."